Strikeforce has posted a new song on their myspace page, called “Holy Wars”. This song was featured in Terrorizer magazine (england,europe,japan) worldwide compilation with Death Angel, Testament, and other major metal acts!

Iced Earth has posted previews of several new cuts off of their up and coming disc, The Crucible of Man, Something Wicked Part II. Go the Iced Earth myspace page and check out the new cuts, “Crucify the King”, “Divide Devour”, “Come What May”, “In Sacred Flames”, “Behold the Wicked Child”, and “A Gift or Curse”. The new songs sound awesome! Check them out!

The Crucible of Man has the following scheduled release dates:

Germany, Austria, Switzerland: September 5
United Kingdom and Europe: September 8
USA and Canada: September 9

The members of Cradle To Grave have been forced to cancel their recently announced tour of the West Coast after the group was detained by the US Department of Homeland Security for suspicion of either sneaking drugs in or attempting to seek work illegally, despite the fact that the band had valid working papers in thier possession. The band was detained for more than 5 hours at the Blaine, WA border facilities, where bored security agents strip searched one of the members, and refused to listen to the band members’ own account of why they were there.

Singer Greg Cavanagh was held for four hours, then refused entry to the US because of suspicion of “rampant drug use, voluminous encounters with prostitutes and satanism” after the border agents reviewed the band’s MySpace page.

At one point, guitarist Denis “Sasquatch” Barthe was held at gun point by 5 officers. He was asked to lay down on the ground, was handcuffed and returned to Canada in a U.S. Border Protection vehicle. After almost five hours of screaming, door-slamming and accusations, the rest of the band was asked to return to Canada.

Last year, Cradle To Grave were refused an entry visa allegedly because the State Department felt their name might “incite violence” and this after they were allowed to tour in 2005. However, in 2002 & 2004 the band were refused entry to the US due to an alleged “lack of artistic merit”.

Cavanagh commented: “Contrary to popular belief, the US doesn’t welcome all foreign musicians with open arms,” he chuckled sarcastically. “We regret to say this, but the tour is over before it even started. Thanks to everyone that worked so hard to bring us down there for the shows we had booked. We’ll hopefully have better luck next time and be able to play for all you crazy West Coast metalheads.”

Cradle to Grave recently released their new album “Texas Medicine through Year of the Sun Records. The album was mixed and mastered by Devin Townsend (Lamb of God, Darkest Hour, GWAR) and hailed by the Vancouver Straight as “the soundtrack of choice for your trip to the electric chair.” The band is currently streaming tracks from the album online at www.myspace.com/cradletograve.

Metallica have just released the first single off their upcoming album, Death Magnetic. The epic track is entitled “The Day That Never Comes” and it’s now available through iTunes. The band recently filmed a video for the track with Danish film director Thomas Vinterberg which will premiere soon. Check out the track which is now streaming on Metallica.com.

Following the successful 2007 release of the coveted 4-CD+DVD Warchest box set, Megadeth is back with a vengeance with Anthology: Set The World Afire. The career-spanning 2-CD and digital collection, to be released September 30 by Capitol/EMI, features Megadeth’s top hits and fan favorites, a previously unreleased demo and two rare concert recordings.

Anthology: Set The World Afire is loaded with 35 electrifying tracks,
among them Megadeth’s top hits, including “Trust,” “A Tout Le Monde,”
“Insomnia” and “Train of Consequences.” Also included are rare 1992 concert
recordings of “Peace Sells” and “Symphony of Destruction,” previously
available only in limited release, the latter having never been released in
the U.S. “High Speed Dirt” is a demo version, previously unreleased.

Iconic frontman Dave Mustaine pioneered the hugely successful metal band,
Megadeth after his departure from Metallica. Beginning with the band’s 1985
debut album, Killing Is My Business … And Business Is Good!, and evolving
through a shifting series of lineups, Megadeth crafted a dynamic, intelligent
style that combined the aggressiveness of thrash metal, the improvisational
nature of jazz, and cynical, articulate, politically-charged lyrics into an
innovative mix that built a rabid worldwide following.

In 1992, Megadeth burst into the mainstream with their fifth album,
Countdown To Extinction, which debuted at #2 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart and went on to sell more than two million copies in the U.S. alone. 1994’s Youthanasia followed with a #4 debut, while 1997’s Cryptic Writings yielded four Top 20 hits at rock radio, including “Trust” and “Almost Honest.”

After a brief hiatus in 2002, Megadeth made a bold return when their tenth
studio album, The System Has Failed, debuted at #18 on Billboard’s Top 200.

In recent years, Mustaine has also overseen the broad remastering campaign
for Megadeth’s Capitol Records catalog, which began with the band’s second
album, Peace Sells … But Who’s Buying? Mustaine spent months remixing,
remastering, restoring — and in some cases, reconstructing — the band’s
Capitol catalog to bring it as close to his original vision as possible. Each
reissue and last year’s career-spanning Warchest box set is packed with
unreleased tracks, demos and alternate mixes, as well as new liner notes by
the iconoclastic Mustaine.

For the majority of three decades, Megadeth has yanked heavy metal into
the future — musically, lyrically, and culturally — and worked the raw soil
into something desirable and dangerous. With defiance and grace, through
unusual quality and intelligence, Megadeth has raised a generation on a diet
of truth serum and bitter pills. Instead of being kicked to the curb for their
insolence, they’ve been rewarded with seven Grammy nominations and five
platinum and multi-platinum albums.

On September 30, Megadeth will continue to build on this powerful legacy
with Anthology: Set The World Afire and will prove once again that they are an indispensable part of heavy metal history.

Check out the new e-card for The Showdown for the latest news, tour dates, photos, music and more, or swing by the album trailer for a small taste of what’s to come. “Back Breaker” is available in stores and online August 19th!

Thrash metal titans Testament have teamed up with Miller High Life for a special promotion! 2 songs from Testament’s latest album, The Formation of Damnation, are available for download RIGHT NOW at Miller High Life Site. Testament will be featured on the main MP3 page of Miller High Life’s “Extras” section beginning August 16.

“More Than Meets The Eye” and “Henchmen Ride” will be available for download for one whole year!

There are over 20 million, specially-marked cases of Miller High Life beer distributed with a unique code on each, which fans can then redeem for “Stuff” at Miller High Life Site.

Testament’s The Formation of Damnation recently won Best Album at the 2008 Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards. The album debuted at 59 on the Billboard Top 200 and has sold nearly 33,000 copies since its April 29 release. The Formation of Damnation is Testament’s highest charting release in their 24-year history. The album also dominated at radio holding the 1 spot on both CMJ and FMQB for several consecutive weeks.

METALLICA has officially set Friday, September 12 as the “worldwide” release date for its new album, “Death Magnetic”. Assuming that the band has yet to announce separate release dates for the different parts of the world (since physical CDs are virtually never released on the same day “worldwide”), the September 12 date in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (where albums are traditionally issued on Fridays) would indicate that the album would arrive in the U.S. on Tuesday, September 16, with most of continental Europe getting the CD one day earlier on September 15.

Tuesdays are when almost all CDs are issued in the U.S.

METALLICA’s new CD will be available to download for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock on the same day the album arrives in stores.

The band is offering the record for sale in numerous configurations, ranging from a digital-only release to a deluxe “coffin box” that will come with a bonus CD, a DVD, a T-shirt, guitar picks and other goodies.

“Death Magnetic” official track listing:

01. That Was Just Your Life
02. The End Of The Line
03. Broken, Beat & Scarred
04. The Day That Never Comes
05. All Nightmare Long
06. Cyanide
07. The Unforgiven III
08. The Judas Kiss
09. Suicide & Redemption
10. My Apocalypse

Metal Blade Records has announced the signing of Kenosha, Wisconsin’s LAZARUS A.D.

Originally known simply as LAZARUS, the band has been pummeling audiences with their brand of modern thrash since the spring of 2005. Have no doubts that LAZARUS A.D. is a thrash band, but merely in attitude as their sound is no simple throwback to the ’80s Bay Area sound. They breathe a breath of fresh air into modern thrash with intelligent, memorable riffs, mid-tempo grooves, and high-flying solos.

In January of 2007, the band recorded “The Onslaught” with Chris Djuricic (SOIL, NOVEMBERS DOOM, MICHAEL ANGELO BATIO) at Studio One. James Murphy (ex-DEATH, TESTAMENT) handled mastering duties and is now remixing the album for its worldwide release via Metal Blade Records.

“We are extremely stoked about being a part of the Metal Blade family,” LAZARUS A.D. said in a statement. “It is a great home for us, and we know together we are going to accomplish everything we have set out to do and so much more. When the record is released, I don’t think we are gonna see home much, we plan to tour for pretty much the rest of our natural lives!”

Mike Faley of Metal Blade Records added: “With the growing number of young aggressive thrash bands rising up across America, we were struck down by the sheer brutality and innovative sound of LAZARUS A.D. We brought James Murphy onboard to mix the new album as Metal Blade gets ready to unleash the onslaught that is LAZARUS in early 2009.”

LAZARUS A.D. will open for TESTAMENT at The Rave in Milwaukee, WI this Friday, August 1.

Why some great releases go out of print, makes no sense to this listener. Metal Church’s fifth CD, The Human Factor, featuring ex-Heretic vocalist, Mike Howe is easily my favorite by the band.

Mike Howe sings with an angry passion that would make Dave Mustaine proud. The song writing on this disc is way above average. Even though guitarist, Kurt Vanderhoof didn’t play on the record, he left his mark as the chief songwriter. The songs tackle the political and social issues of the day, including music, poverty, activists, censorhip, child endangerment and more. One look at the lyric sheet, and you will be amazed at the writing on this disc.

Everything on this record works for me. Great vocals, kill guitar work, an excellent rhythm section and good songs. The music is heavy but it has a killer groove, that will appeal to a lot of metal fans.

The best cuts on this record are Human Factor, Date With Poverty, Final Word, and In Harm’s Way. Even though these songs are the stand out tracks, I like ever song on this disc. In fact, I love this album every bit as much as the day when I picked it back up in 1991.

Sadly, this album is out of print, but copies of it show up on Ebay and Amazon.com from time to time. If you can find a copy of the Human Factor, grab it. You won’t be disappointed.

If extreme heavy metal is your favorite type of music, you ought to give Nevada metal act Hemlock a look. Hemlock released their fourth album, No Time For Sorrow in March of 2008.

For a three piece metal act, this band has a big sound. Singer Chad Smith’s vocals are so abrasive that only extreme or death metal fans will truly enjoy what he has to offer here.

While this is not my favorite style of metal, I can not deny that this band has talent. Hemlock’s sound reminds me somewhat of later Pantera. Guitarist Brian Gentry isn’t as as good as Dime Bag Darrell, but he does a pretty good job. In fact, as heavy as this band is, it is hard for me to believe that their are only three musicians.

Hemlock has opened for a slew of metal acts, including Slayer, Lamb of God, Slipknot, Hatebreed and more. If you like the style of metal offered by these groups, give Hemlock a chance. You can hear some of their songs at their myspace page.

Rating: Out of 10

Track Listing:

1. World of The Transparent
2. Red Sky Revolution
3. No Time For Sorrow
4. Bugs
5. Backstabber
6. What you Don t Know
7. And The Friendship Corrodes
8. The Reason
9. To Submerge Another
10. Beautality
11. Product of Chance

The cover artwork for METALLICA‘s new album, “Death Magnetic”, can be viewed above.
In an interview conducted yesterday (Wednesday, July 16) by VG TV at the opening show of the second leg of METALLICA‘s European summer tour in Bergen, Norway, guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield stated about the new album title, “‘Death Magnetic’, at least the title, to me, it’s… It had something to do with… It started out as kind of a tribute to people that have fallen in our business, like Layne Staley [ALICE IN CHAINS] and a lot of the people that have died, basically — rock and roll martyrs of sorts. And then it kind of grew from there. Thinking about death… some people are drawn towards it, and just like a magnet, some people are drawn towards it, [and] other people are afraid of it and push away. And the concept that we’re all gonna die sometimes is over-talked about and then a lot of times never talked about — no one wants to bring it up; it’s the big white elephant in the living room. But we all have to deal with it at some point. So that’s kind of the subject matter.”

METALLICA has announced that every song “Death Magnetic” will be available to download for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock on the same date that the record arrives in stores, reports The Pulse of Radio. A post at the band’s official web site stated, “It’s a first in both music and gaming…The same day that ‘Death Magnetic’ hits the streets, you’ll be able to download every song from the album for Guitar Hero III! We are so psyched that we’ll be the first out of the gate with this simultaneous release…Who knows?! Maybe a few years from now this will be the norm when your favorite band’s new record comes out.”

The post added that “Death Magnetic” will also be available for the new World Tour edition of Guitar Hero, which is due out this fall.

Rumors of an all-METALLICA edition of Guitar Hero have been making the rounds recently, but the game’s publishers have not confirmed this.

“Death Magnetic” is due out in September and was produced by METALLICA and Rick Rubin.

A deluxe box set edition of the album will be available in the U.S. The coffin box package will contain one CD featuring the album, another containing demos, a behind-the-scenes DVD, an exclusive T-shirt, a METALLICA flag, a collection of guitar picks, codes for a special live download and a poster.

The coffin box will only be available through Metallica.com, MetClub.com, and MissionMetallica.com.

Several other editions of “Death Magnetic” will also be offered for sale through the Mission: Metallica site, including an all-digital version and a high-end edition featuring five vinyl LPs and a lithograph.

METALLICA‘s next U.S. date is the one-day Ozzfest on August 9 in Dallas, with a full North American tour slated to begin in October.

DRIVER issued a widely circulated five-song cassette EP demo in 1990 that garnered the band a dedicated worldwide following as well as attained cult status as one of the most underrated hard rock acts of its time. Since then, Rock and Roy Z have forged ahead to garner long successful careers in the music business. 2008 saw the reunion of the band which resulted in the recordings of the aforementioned CD.

San Diego, CA’s Mower have been added to the July 16th San Diego, CA date of the Rockstar Music Mayhem Festival featuring Slipknot and Disturbed. The band will be performing alongside metal heavyweights like Machine Head, 36 Crazyfists and Five Finger Death Punch in the group’s hometown.
“THANK YOU! That’s what you say about performing on the Jagermeister stage in San Diego on the biggest tour of the summer, the Rockstar Mayhem Festival,” says frontman Brian Sheerin. “We’re wrapping up the new Mower CD this month and we’ve got some heavy new material we’re looking forward to playing at Mayhem.”
Mower recently entered a Los Angeles, CA recording studio with producer Eddie Wohl (Anthrax, Ill Nino, 36 Crazyfists, Dry Kill Logic) to record their upcoming new album. The album is a split release with six brand new Mower songs and six songs from the group’s jazz alter ego Slower. Slower is comprised of the Mower band members performing jazz and lounge versions of Mower songs.
“We’ve a couple guest guitarists, guest vocals, string sections keyboards and percussion for this album. Stay tuned in the coming weeks and we’ll announce a pretty sick list of musicians that have been collaborating with us in the studio,” Sheerin says. “Our writing style changed in that there are more songs about events that we lived through and people in our lives, but our sarcasm hasn’t faded one bit and neither has our sense of humor.”
The band recently released a video for the track “American Psycho”.

The track appears on the group’s critically acclaimed sophomore effort, “Not For You”, which saw them tour the US relentlessly alongside (Hed)p.e. and Diecast. The album’s lead single “Road Rage” was one of most requested tracks on Sirius Satellite Radio’s Hard Attack for twelve consecutive weeks.

Recently, a friend of mine let me borrow a copy of his Chastain CD, In Dementia. I have always enjoyed David T. Chastain’s guitar work, but I have not checked out his latest music.

The one thing that surprised me about this Chastain disc, was the razor sharp vocals of Kate French. There are some exceptions to the rule, (i.e. Doro Pesch, Lita Ford, etc.) but I usually don’t care for female lead singers in most hard rock or heavy metal bands.

Kate French has made me rethink this once more. You would not expect a metal style voice to come out of this blonde bombshell, but she delivers the goods. Her Mustaine like snarls seems to be tailor made for David T. Chastain’s virtuoso style of guitar playing.

Chastain’s playing on this record seems to be a good balance of chugging heavy riffs, and melodic fret work that he has always been known for.

I am not sure how In Dementia compares to other Chastain releases, but I thought this was a pretty solid metal record. If anything, this disc put Kate French on my radar. Kate recorded one more CD, after this with Chastain before moving on to the band Vainglory. I will be checking out those releases as a result of hearing this disc.

If you are looking for some good metal to add to your collection, give In Dementia a look. You can hear samples of this record at Amazon.com.